The present invention relates generally to a rolling ball game such as a pinball game, and more particularly to a pinball game having a flipper button which is able to move outward towards the player's fingers in response to the pinball making contact with the flipper or a target. The movement of the flipper button to the player's fingers simulates the impact the player would feel if the flipper button had a direct mechanical connection to the flipper or target.
For years, pinball machines or games have provided a source of leisure time enjoyment for a variety of people. Despite the recent proliferation of computerized video arcades, pinball continues to be recognized as a popular pastime. Pinball games offer the player the ability to manipulate an actual physical object (the ball) as a three-dimensional object as opposed to a character on a two-dimensional screen.
When playing pinball, a player usually sets the ball into play with a spring biased arm or plunger. As the ball strikes various scoring elements, such as post bumpers and slingshot bumpers, the player earns points according to the number of times the ball strikes the bumper and the point value of each bumper. Furthermore, it is common for a pinball game to have certain criteria for a player to attempt to accomplish to earn, for example, a Jackpot, bonus points, free games, and extra pinballs. Examples of the above-mentioned criteria include having the pinball make contact with one or more specific targets or sets of targets. It is common to have visual and audio special effects, such as flashing lights and unusual sounds, to signal that the criteria has been accomplished by the player.
Because the ball rolling or playing surface of the pinball table is gently sloped, the force of gravity constantly urges the ball towards the base of the table. Usually mounted near the base of the table are two flippers that may be electro-mechanically actuated by a player by depressing the buttons located on the side of the machine's cabinet. By correctly timing the actuating of the flippers, the player can cause the flippers to strike the ball and propel it into the playing area to again contact the various scoring elements in order to score further points.
In contrast to the bumpers or other scoring elements, movement of the flippers is within the control of the player. These flippers do not detect ball contact like the bumpers and other scoring elements, however, and no points are scored as a result of contact between the flipper and the ball. The flippers are merely ball propelling devices. The primary purpose of the flipper is to keep the ball in play and prevent it from escaping the playing field by passing through the space located between or around the flippers thereby ending the play of that particular ball. However, a novel flipper mechanism capable of detecting contact with the ball is described in co-pending application Ser. No. 07/392,050, filed Aug. 10, 1989 and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,323 whose disclosures are incorporated herein by reference.
When a player plays pinball on a conventional machine as described above, the player is not able to actually feel the ball striking the flipper or a target since the flipper or the target are actually moved by an electro-mechanical device. The lack of feeling sensation of the striking of the flipper or target removes some of the attraction of the device when the ball physically contacts the flipper or target.
Furthermore, lacking the feel of the flipper striking the ball diminishes the player's ability to control the direction of the ball to desired areas of the playing area.
Another disadvantage to such a pinball game is that a player's sight is the only sense in which the player is able to determine when to strike the flipper button. The strength of a player's sight could become the deciding factor in the ability to score well.
Another disadvantage of pinball games is that the only means for a player to determine if a certain criteria of the game has been accomplished is to visually scan the playing surface or the scoring display or to listen for an unusual sound. However, visual scanning or hearing an unusual sound can result in the player losing concentration on the game by losing track of the ball and may result in the drainage of the ball from the playing surface.
In view of the above, it is an objective of this invention to provide a pinball game or machine where a player is imparted a physical stimulus in response to the impact of a projectile, such as a pinball, contacting a projectile sensing mechanism, such as a target or flipper.
It is a further objective of this invention to provide a pinball game or machine where a player is imparted a physical stimulus as part of a special effect produced by the pinball machine to signal to the player the accomplishment of certain criteria of the game.